Bethesda show 30 minutes of Skyrim gameplay

Bethesda pulled a bit of a surprise during QuakeCon last week and decided to show off an extended gameplay playthrough of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with Todd Howard, creator of the game as well as previous games in the series at the controls.

What’s so special about this video is the fact it’s 30 minutes of uninterrupted gameplay showing off a lot of features and giving us an insight into just how good this latest chapter of the Elder Scrolls could be.

Unfortunately it’s only shakycam footage, but you still get a good idea of the quality of the game. You can tell instantly the game is going to be huge, with Howard stating the map is about the same size as Oblivion, but there is a ton more content. Dynamic elements also seem key to producing a game this large and detailed. For example, no texturing is done to create weather conditions, the weather system and what it does to a landscape is all handled and decided by the game. The snow on the rocks you see in the game has not been placed by an artist, for example.

During the plathrough we get to see your character used in both 1st and 3rd person viewpoints. There’s also use of dual wield weapons, independent hand control, magic equipped on both hands that when used together produces more powerful spells, and the introduction of Shout skills.

Shouts are sure to be popular and come in a range of forms. There’s non-hostile Shouts that allow for short bursts of movement speed, or slowing down time to gain you an advantage in a fight. Then there’s the Shout that can blow back multiple enemies, and an advanced Shout that can summon up a storm that damages enemies with lightning strikes.

Howard also states while playing that Bethesda has worked to remove the need to choose your character type at the start of the game. Instead your actions and choices will map out your type as you go along. To support this, and also to encourage a unique gameplay experience, quests are also dynamic. That means although there will be a base quest system and set tasks for each, your character and your actions will tweak the finer details of each quest as you progress. No two games should be exactly the same because of this.

Skills and levelling also seem to have been given a major overhaul and we get a glimpse of a perks system. When you level up you also get to choose a perk and progress down a perks tree. It looks as though you will be able to focus on a very specific areas if you so wish, which is a nice option to have and should lead to some very unqiue characters being created.

Other things of note include the interface, which has clearly been designed with a joypad and consoles in mind. You can even attach favorites to the D-Pad for quick access to your best spells or weapons. There’s also confirmation that the Dark Brotherhood, the guild of professional assassins from Oblivion, will be making an appearance in Skyrim.

One final announcement Howard had to make was about a very limited Collector’s Edition. It will include a huge coffee table art book with over 200 pages of illustrations alongside a map of thw world, a making of DVD, and a large statue of a dragon. There’s no price announced, but it’s definitely an early pre-order edition if you want to guarantee getting one.

Bethesda asked that no one record the presentation, but as the video above shows, not everyone listened. However, an HD version of the video is meant to appear officially from bethesda soon. It will certainly show off the visuals in a better light.